Perfect Life
by OCnative
Summary: Marissa's POV in the pilot episode. What is "perfect" anyway? And what happens when someone comes along and turns your world upside down?
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer - I don't own anything OC related.

This stems from the pilot episode, and is from Marissa's POV.

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She's waiting for Luke in the driveway again. He can't be bothered to come to the door for her anymore, the dating chase and polite manners of early courtship over. Now she was just arm candy for the most popular jock at Harbor. She'd been dating him for as long as she could remember, she felt as if she was a moon, caught in the orbit of the planet named "Luke." She couldn't imagine not being with him. He had somehow become the center of her universe and she had no idea how to exist without him.

Oh fuck it, why bother worrying about all this? Her mother was constantly reminding her of how good she had it with Luke. She didn't want to wind up like her Aunt Cindy, living in a trailer park with three screaming kids, and a husband who spent more time at the bar than he did a home. No, she was lucky to have a rich and popular guy like Luke. If she played her cards right, he'd marry her and she would stay secure. Secure like she felt right now.

She looked up, there was a guy walking down the Cohen's driveway, smoking a cigarette. It wasn't Seth or Mr. Cohen. He came out to the edge of their driveway. He seemed deep in thought and oblivious to her presence. He was pretty cute, in a rugged kind of way. Obviously not from Newport.

She wanted an excuse to say something without seeming, well obvious. She asked him for a cigarette. She didn't really smoke unless she was at a party and her friends were smoking. Her mom would kill her, yell at her about wrinkles and aging. Whatever.

He looked intently at her, his eyes piercing hers. He looked like he was sizing her up. Slowly a half smile came to his face and he reached into his pocket for the pack of smokes. He extended a lone cigarette to her, just far enough to make her have to walk over to him to get it. She walked over slowly, looking at him the same way he had been looking at her. She took the cigarette and quickly put it in her mouth. Her hands trembled slightly. He leaned towards her with his cigarette so she could light hers. This was so wrong, Luke could pull up any minute, and he could get so jealous if he caught her talking to another guy! She quickly lit her cigarette and took three steps backwards towards her own house to put some space in between them.

Having lost her opportunity to get him to talk, she tried to think of something else to say. She asked him who he was. He told her this wild story about stealing a car, going to jail, and living in the Cohens' pool house. It had to be fake. Some guy trying to give her some weird pick up line. Whatever. It didn't matter anyways. She was with Luke, who would be here any moment.

The boy never took his eyes off of her. He just stood there, silently smoking and watching her. It should have freaked her out. Screw Luke, he should come to the door so she didn't have to wait outside. But oddly, it didn't freak her out. He was rugged yes, but a threat to her? No. Probably not.

Suddenly there were headlights, Luke pulled up to a screeching halt and pushed the passenger door open. The radio was thumping and he appeared as though he had already started drinking. He looked past her to the smoking guy and back at her. She dropped her cigarette to the ground. She didn't want Luke to think that anything had happened between her and smoking guy. She jumped into the truck and Luke gave her a huge kiss. It meant nothing, only show for the smoking guy. "_See this girl asshole? She belongs to me_." Before she was even buckled in, Luke was screeching off for Holly's party. She didn't dare look back at smoking guy.

When they got the party, she grabbed a cup and started filling it up to the rim with alcohol. Numb it. Numb everything. Numb her fucking life. She gulped half the cup before she even realized it. Ah, that's better. Happy now, surrounded by her friends who love her and think she is popular and pretty and smart. They don't look underneath the surface, they don't see the pain and the insecurity that the alcohol numbs.

She kept thinking about smoking guy. Even as Luke was nudging her that he wanted to leave. Wanted to collect on her payment for being his arm candy. Shit, couldn't he see she was drunk? She didn't want to have sex with him. Not now, not tonight, not anymore. Sure at first it had been fun. Back when she was in love with him. Back when she felt like an equal in the relationship. Now she just felt like a trophy. He didn't even try and please her, just a quick fuck and he was done. She rarely even knew where he was anymore when he wasn't with her. And oddly enough, she didn't care.

But, this was what life was like, right? She was lucky to have Luke, lucky that he wanted her. She could be like Aunt Cindy. Her mom always told her not to withhold the goods for too long, or else the natives would get restless. Was that really normal? Shouldn't her mom be giving her the big "wait until marriage" speech? She gulped the rest of the vodka, she had lost count on how many cups she'd had. She let herself be lead by Luke out of Holly's house and into his truck.

He drove her back to her parent's house. He'd taken her to school and they'd had sex out on the baseball field. Hell, couldn't he have sprung for a hotel room? He'd given her some shit about sex under the stars, yeah whatever. She'd found herself fantasizing about smoking guy on top of her, screwing her instead of Luke. It actually made the act enjoyable. She was starting to feel the effects of the vodka, and the dampness from the grass clung to her. She felt like Aunt Cindy right about now, used trash. What happened to love and romance? It seemed like Luke just didn't care anymore.

Luke couldn't even be bothered to walk her to the door, he just gave her a kiss and a "damn I'm great" look, as he leaned over to push open the truck door. As she got out, he pulled the truck out of the driveway and sped off. Asshole.

She didn't want to go in the house just yet, not looking like this. She looked around. Damn, there was no where else to go. If her mother woke and saw her walking in the door looking like this, she'd never hear the end of it. Gold diggers had standards to uphold after all.

She heard a noise, she glanced over at the Cohen's house in time to see smoking guy again. He was sneaking out for another cigarette. She wanted to see him again, but not like this. He saw her first and gave her the same half smile he'd given her earlier as he continued to walk down the driveway to the street. It was as if he was inviting her to join him, but no pressure. It was her call. He didn't seem to mind that she looked worn out.

She looked down and tried to smooth out her skirt the best she could and then ran her fingers through her hair. She looked towards him again. He had his back to her and was looking up the road and smoking. She started walking towards him, hoping he wouldn't notice how wet her clothes were.

When she was standing next to him, he handed her a cigarette and his lighter without her asking. It was as if he knew she was messed up and needed something. Grateful, for the moment of silence, she accepted it and inhaled deeply. She felt the smoke swirling in her lungs and it seemed to make things better. Standing here next to smoking guy made things better.

She turned to ask him his name, Ryan Atwood. She told him hers. She asked him for the real story of why he was at the Cohens' and he gave her a weird look. He'd told her the truth. She smiled apologetically at him. Enough said. They continued to smoke in silence for a few minutes.

"So, do you want to talk about what happened to you tonight?" He finally asked. 

Talk to him? She didn't even know him. How could she trust him?

As if he read her mind, he told her that he could keep a secret. That he was full of them. 

He inhaled the last bit from his cigarette and flicked it into the gutter. "Of course, you don't have to say a word. After all, I'm a total stranger. You just look like you have a lot to say and not too many people to say it to." He shrugged and looked down at his boots. He seemed surprised he had said so much.

Before she knew it, she was telling him everything, it all came flying out of her mouth. Her whacked out mother, her asshole of a boyfriend and his demands for sex, her "friends" who had never even bothered to ask her the same question he just did. She began to sob. She had never told this to anyone, and here she was, opening her soul to some guy from Chino, living in the Cohens' pool house.

As she started to cry, he took a few steps towards her, but it was obvious he wasn't sure whether to hold her and comfort her, or just stand there. She felt herself drawn to him. She folded herself into him and he put his arms around her.

"I won't tell anyone what you said, you can trust me." 

It was as if he dropped the mysterious bad guy act in response to her outpouring. He also noticed for the first time that her clothes were cold and wet.

"Why don't you come to the pool house and change out of your wet clothes?" He asked.

She suddenly pulled away, he was the same as Luke! He wanted to get her into the pool house and take advantage of her!

He could tell what she was thinking. "Oh no, I didn't mean…I'm not trying to do anything." He stammered. He offered to go, set some clothes out, leave, and let her go in there by herself. There was also a bathroom with a lock on the door in the pool house.

She sighed. She'd jumped to conclusions. "Sorry." She said that she would like to go change, in the bathroom, and he didn't have to leave. She followed him back to the pool house.

When she emerged from the bathroom in his sweat pants and shirt, she found him sitting at the desk in the far corner of the room. He'd gone into the house and gotten two bottles of water for them. Wow, polite manners without the chase!

She walked over and perched on the edge of the bed, facing him. Taking a bottle of water, and not wanting to leave yet, she asked him to tell her more about himself. After opening up to him, she was curious to know more about him.

He seemed hesitant to talk about himself, but seeing her earnest face, he sighed. His dad and brother, Trey, were in lockup. His mom was a drunk who went from one abusive boyfriend to another. He'd grown up being beaten up by those assholes and Trey. His mom had thrown him out after getting nailed with Trey for boosting the car. The Cohens had kept him from getting sent to a group home.

She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath during his story until the end and she felt herself exhaling deeply. Wow, and she had been throwing herself a pity party! She felt ashamed about her problems. Poor little rich girl, what a selfish bitch she was! She could see that talking about his past had gotten to Ryan. He was trembling slightly. 

She got up from the bed and walked over to the desk. He stood up and she embraced him this time, with a hug. She wanted him to know that everything was okay now, here with the Cohens. He held onto her tightly. Everything was going to be okay now. They had each other.

It was getting late and she wanted to leave before something happen. She had begun to feel something for Ryan and she needed to leave before she did something stupid, something that she might regret. She felt like she could do anything with Ryan and that impulsiveness scared her. He once again seemed to understand without her even saying a word.

She told Ryan that she wanted to see him again the next night, and that she'd give him his clothes back. Knowing about Luke, he told her that it was up to her. He didn't want to cause problems even though Luke was an asshole. He knew there was history and baggage there. 

In everything that had happened she had totally forgotten about Luke. With his temper, he couldn't find out about this or else he would freak out or _worse_. But she had to see Ryan again. Needed to see Ryan again. She would have to make something up so Luke wouldn't know. Everything would be okay. She told him that she would find a way to make it work out. She asked that he meet her down at the beach at 10 PM.


	2. Chapter Two

As she faced her own front door and rang the bell, she continued to think about Ryan, about the look on his face when she'd left the pool house. Her mother answered the door. She started grilling her when she saw that Marissa was wearing some guy's clothes. What had happened? Where was Luke? Why was she wearing Luke's clothes? Squawk, squawk, squawk. They weren't at some charity event playing the happy family. Marissa faced her mother and for the first time told her to go to hell before walking into her bedroom and locking the door. She'd never said that to her mother, but damn, it felt great.

The next morning she woke up, still wearing Ryan's clothes. They sort of smelled like him, musky and rugged. She smiled, looking forward to seeing him again tonight. She got up, got dressed and collected the sweats and her wet clothes together to wash.

Her mother was gone when she went downstairs, off to another aerobics class. Whatever. She was happy to have the house to herself.

That night, she snuck out of the house and made her way down to the sandy beach below. She's told Luke that she was catching a cold so he wouldn't come over. He said he would go out with some friends. He seemed to be doing more and more of that lately. He was probably cheating on her despite her "giving up the goods" as her mother put it. Whatever, asshole.

She found Ryan already sitting on a black blanket on the beach. He was wearing jeans and a black long sleeved shirt and black jacket. He had a bottle of Highland single malt perched in the sand in front of him. He was watching the small waves ripple in the moonlight. She felt her heart skip a beat. She couldn't put her finger on what it was about him, but there was something there between them, she could feel it.

Not knowing what to say, she just sat down next to him on the blanket and handed him his sweats, washed and neatly folded.

'Thanks" he said quietly as he set them on the other side of him on the blanket. He reached for the scotch and took a swig. He looked at her. After the party last night he wasn't sure she wanted to drink again. She reached for the bottle and took a swig. She didn't feel a need to get drunk with Ryan, she didn't need to drown her feelings being with him, but she welcomed the smooth scotch and the warmth it created in her.

She looked at him as she set the bottle down and then just decided to go for it. She leaned into him and opened her mouth. As she started kissing him she could feel his resistance slip away. He opened his mouth and began kissing her back. He reached for the back of her head and pulled her into him. Before she knew it, she was on top of him and kissing him with the heat and passion she'd never had with Luke. She felt a soft moan escape her lips just as she heard another familiar voice.

"Hey, let's go over there, we can make love under the stars baby."

It was Luke! She rolled over and sat up. So he was cheating on her! Of course, here she was here with Ryan. They were in the dark cove, not easily seen by Luke and the girl he was with. Marissa didn't recognize her, she didn't go to Harbor. Ryan sat up next to her, obviously realizing who the voice belonged to by the look on Marissa's face.

She looked at Ryan and held her finger to her lips. She didn't want Luke to know that they were there, or that they'd heard anything. They were low to the ground, and in the darkness, Luke wasn't going to see them unless he started walking directly towards them.

Which he did. Ryan motioned for Marissa to take the blanket and sweats and go and hide behind one of the rocks that were in the cove. He got up and started walking towards Luke and the girl with the scotch, acting like he was out for a solo walk.

"Hey, aren't you that asshole I saw hanging out with my girlfriend last night?" Luke yelled.

"Can't be, I've never seen this girl before." Ryan replied coldly, eyeing Luke's date.

With that, Luke took a swing at Ryan, who ducked out of the way and swung hard with an upward punch to Luke's chin, which sent him over backwards. With the first blow, Marissa knew that she couldn't keep hiding and let the two men in her life get hurt. Luke's date was already screaming for them to stop fighting.

Marissa ran over to the boys yelling for Ryan to get off Luke. She knew she couldn't really scream at Luke for cheating on her, this time at least, because she was equally as guilty. Suddenly the scene was flooded with lights as the beach patrol pulled up. It was curfew and they must have heard the screaming. Two of the guys jumped out and separated Luke and Ryan. Marissa stood next to Ryan looking at Luke and his date. 

"It's over." She said to Luke as the patrol guys were escorting Luke and his date to their Jeep. One of the patrol guys also asked them to leave. As they drove away, Luke yelled, "It's not over yet asshole!"

Marissa turned to Ryan. In 24 hours, she had completely turned her life inside out and it was all because of Ryan. She hoped that she had made the right decision, and feared her mother's response when she found out that Marissa had broken up with Luke. She was scared and thrilled at the same time.

Looking into her eyes, it seemed like once again, Ryan knew what she was thinking. Without saying a word, he laced his fingers through hers and leaned over to kiss her.


End file.
